


A Hallowfest Adventure

by MattTheDragon001



Category: Postknight (Video Game)
Genre: Original work - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:00:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26644147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MattTheDragon001/pseuds/MattTheDragon001
Summary: The Postknight goes to Pompon for Hallowfest and winds up caught in a new adventure. Original work. Sorry but I'm no good at writing summaries.





	1. Happy Hallowfest!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know the proper name of the Postknight Halloween event so I decided to come up with one myself. I'm a new writer here so feedback and kudos are appreciated!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know the proper name of the Postknight Halloween event so I decided to come up with one myself. I'm a new writer here so feedback and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> My personal name for the Postknight is Arthuric.

It was that time of year once again. Hallowfest, the annual celebration of The Seven Hallowed Nights, had come again. A long, long time ago, the world had been overrun by evil wraiths and daemons, but an army of spiritual warriors had descended from the Havens, the place where noble warriors went after death, and fought off the demons.

The battle had lasted for seven days and nights, but ultimately, the Seven Seraphim were victorious, and the dark creatures were sealed away. In memoriam of the brave Seraphim, every year from that point onwards, Hallowfest would be celebrated across the continent of Prism by all.

The Hallowfest celebrations were deemed public holidays, and almost all services were ceased. This, however, did not include the Postknights. When Arthuric had received an invitation from Magnolia to celebrate Hallowfest with the Pomponians, he’d been overjoyed… though admittedly it had taken him a lot of persuading and cajoling to get his superiors to assign him to Pompon. The turning point had been Captains Cassandra and Blaze’s input; they stated that Arthuric had done quite enough at Caldemount and deserved a change of scenery. Arthuric wondered how he could ever thank them.

As Arthuric arrived at Pompon, he was surprised by how the village had changed. In a short time, the villagers had decorated their village in the traditional Hallowfest colors of orange and black. Jack-o’lanterns, which were said to be able to ward off evil, were placed outside every villager’s house. Some had even more than one. Two especially large ones flanked the entrance to the village, illuminating everything in the vicinity with their flickering candlelight.

“Arthuric!”

Arthuric turned to see Magnolia running towards him. She was dressed in an orange and green suit, and her hairband was now green with little pumpkin hair clips.

“I’m so glad you could make it!” She grabbed Arthuric’s hand and dragged him off. “Come on! Father wants to talk to you!”

When they reached Magnolia’s house, Chief Merrick was waiting outside. His attire was no different from usual, other than the fact that he’d swapped his feathered headdress for a wizard’s pointy hat.

“Ah, Arthuric. Happy Hallowfest.” the Chief greeted Arthuric. “It’s good to have you here. I think we all feel safer with you around.” He gave a short, sharp laugh.  


“Well, we’re almost done with decorations, and the village is certainly in the Hallowfest mood now. Why don’t you have a look around?” He gestured to the house behind him. “We’ve set up one of the guest rooms for you.”

Arthuric barely had time to thank the Chief before Magnolia yanked him away, eager to show him the sights.

As they moved through the village, Magnolia pointed out the various installations that the villagers had set up for Hallowfest. There was a massive fir tree, decorated with orange and black ribbons and set up in the middle of the town square. There was a mural depicting the Battle of the Seven Hallowed Nights near Carle’s shop. A tower of jack-o’lanterns cast Agen’s workshop in a flickering orange-yellow firelight.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?’ asked Magnolia. Arthuric had to agree. He privately wondered if this was what Pompon looked like in Hallowfest, what would it look like during Winterfest? He imagined Pompon draped in snow with red and green banners everywhere. That would be a sight to see, he thought.

“Arthuric! Good to see you!”

Alchemist Fiora, a kindly woman with bright pink hair and Pompon’s chief alchemist was in the middle of stirring a large cauldron. Her daughter, Fleur, dressed in a witch ensemble, was helping her measure and add ingredients to the concotion within.

“Why don’t you come over here for a bit, Arthuric? We have something for you!” Fleur called out.

Arthuric approached the two of them, with Magnolia trailing a bit further behind. Indicating the liquid bubbling in the cauldron, Fleur said: “This is a special potion we’ve been brewing especially for Hallowfest. We wanted you to be the first to try it out!”

Fleur handed Arthuric a sapphire flask and Fiora started ladling some of the cauldron’s contents into it. Arthuric sniffed the potion and noted that the smell was not unpleasant. it smelled like candy, sweet and sugary, with perhaps a hint of honey.

Then he took a sip, just in time to see Fiora fish a human eyeball out of the cauldron in her ladle.

Arthuric dropped the flask and spewed potion. Fleur, Magnolia and Fiora all burst out laughing.

“The look on your face!” giggled Magnolia.

“Priceless!” agreed Fiora.

Fleur, suppressing a smile, held up a small jar filled with the eyeballs. Arthuric saw that the label read: “Sugar Eyes! Scare Your Friends With These!” He smiled, unable to deny that the prank had been a good one.

“Sorry about that.” Fiora gathered up the dropped flask and filled it to the brim, corking it with a rubber stopper. “Fleur and Magnolia talked me into it. For your information, the potion is actually nothing more than a mildly alcoholic drew. It’s not magical, but it will taste good and slake your thirst. Come back if you’d like some more!”

The next morning, Arthuric woke up to find Magnolia staring into his face. Startled, his postknight reflexes kicked in and his fist lashed out, knocking Magnolia onto the floor.

“Sorry! Reflex. Are you alright?” Arthuric quickly apologized.

“Geez, you’re not pulling your punches, are you?” moaned Magnolia, getting to her feet. “At least now I know not to surprise you when you wake up. That hurt! But don’t worry, I’m fine.” she quickly added, seeing the look on Arthuric’s face. “C’mon! The Hallowfest celebrations are starting, so hurry up and get dressed!”

When Arthuric stepped out of the front door, he saw a merry scene. A series of strung-together jack-o-lanterns supported by sticks being held by two people were weaving their way throught the village streets, followed by a throng of villagers. A man dressed in wooden armor wielding a wooden sword and shield carved with arcane runes danced in front, mock-fighting the creature. Behind it, a group of men beat drums and clashed cymbals, forming a rhythmic harmony.

Arthuric recognized the performance, he’d seen it done before in his home town. The jack-o-lanterns represented the Skullwyrm, a monstrous worm-like creature formed of massive skulls that preyed on humans. The man in front represented one of the Seraphim, Mykol the Brave, who had slain the Wyrm. The men beating drums and clashing cymbals behind represented the villagers who had helped Mykol drive the Wyrm from its lair by making loud noises, which the Wyrm didn’t like. The loud noises had also drven the Wyrm to distraction and helped Mykol find an opening to land the fatal blow.

The performance in itself was part of the traditional celebrations on the first day of Hallowfest, which was one of the noisest days of the week. It was believed that the Wyrm’s vengeful spirit still remained, and making loud noises would scare it away, believing that Mykol was coming for it. The first day of Hallowfest was generally spent partying, and a huge feast was usually held on the first night of Hallowfest.

As the performance ended, Arthuric realized that they had wound up in the town square. He saw Chief Merrick beckoning to him, so he headed over.

"Arthuric, just the person I needed!" Chief Merrick said. "We're expecting some food supplies, but the caravan bringing the food was due yesterday. It might have been bogged down or delayed, but I have a feeling that's not it. Samson told me he overheard some bandits saying that they had recently got hold of a large stock of food supplies. I'm worried that the caravan might have been attacked by the bandits. Their new camp seems to be to the southwest, could you go check it out?"

Arthuric agreed, knowing that the food supplies were essential for tonight's feast preparations. He headed out onto Creek Trail , which was the road that led directly to the southwest area.

Soon enough, he ran into some bandits. A brief fight later, and he came away none the worse for wear, but with the confirmation that the bandits' new food supplies had been nothing more than bragging. The bandit, however, had mentioned that a large wagon had lost a wheel over at Timber Path, and another group of bandits was heading over to rob it.

Arthuric hurried over as fast as he could. He soon heard the sounds of a fight.

When he arrived, he saw a wagon with a missing wheel being defended by a group of adventures, while a merchant frantically tried to repair the wagon. He was making slow progress, and the adventures were close to being overwhelmed.

Arthuric joined the fray, knocking away one bandit with his shield and slashing open the throat of a Dire Wolf with his sword. Given hope by his arrival, the adventurers renewed their attack, and soon all the bandits had been driven away. 

"Thanks. We would've been done for if you hadn't arrived when you did." the leader of the adventurers said. By the looks of his gear, he was a copper-ranked adventurer, which in other terms meant he wasn't much more higher than a rookie in the adventurer hierarchy. "We accepted a request to protect this merchant on his way to Pompon through these woods. He seems to be carrying food supplies."

Arthuric explained the situation to them.

"I see." the adventurer leader said. "We'll accompany you the rest of the way once the wagon's fixed, then we'll go on our way. We're needed back in Kurin. There's a large-scale joint quest there, and we don't want to miss it. It's a fast way for us to rank up, you see."

When Arthuric and the adventurers arrived with the repaired wagon, Chief Merrick was overjoyed.

"This is great! Now we have enough food for tonight's feast! Won't you stay for it?" the Chief asked the adventurers. Arthuric quickly explained their situation. "Well, that's too bad. In that case, I wish you good luck in your questing."

As the adventurer party left, Chief Merrick, Arthuric, and a group of villagers set about unloading the food and delivering it to the chefs. In gratitude for Arthuric's help, Chief Merrick gave him a small chest, which contained some gold, herbs, and forging materials. "A small compensation for your help in saving the day, my lad."

That evening, everyone gathered in the town square. There were several massive tables laden with food there, and Chief Merrick was standing on a platform.

“My fellow villagers, friends, and postknight!” the Chief boomed. “It's the first night of Hallowfest, and tonight is a time for noise, celebration and most importantly, partying! The tables before you are laden with delicious fare, take as much as you want, for there’s plenty to spare. Let’s partake of the annual Hallowfest buffet, and happy Hallowfest to us all!”

With a cheer, the first night of Hallowfest began. The partying lasted well into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos are appreciated, but you don't have to if you don't like my work.


	2. Attack Of The Wyrm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthuric accompanies Magnolia and Fleur out to guard the children of Pompon while they go alm-asking, but then things take a turn for the worse.

Arthuric lay back on his bed, exhausted after a long night of merry-making. Before today, he hadn’t known that Magnolia could dance so much. He wondered how the Pomponians would go about the next day, but before he could think too much, he’d fallen asleep.

The next evening, Arthuric was reading in his room when Magnolia and Fleur appeared in the doorway of his room.

“It’s time for us to accompany the little ones when they go ‘alm-asking’.” Magnolia said. “Do you want to come with us and help out? Since you’re a trained postknight, it’d probably be better.”

Legend states that when the Seven Seraphim first arrived on Prism, they wanted to see whether the people of Prism were worth saving. So, they disguised themselves as homeless children and went from door to door asking for handouts, or as it was called then, alms. Most people gave them something, regardless of their current financial situation. Touched by their kindness, the Seraphim decided to help, and after the battle was over, the families that gave alms to the Seraphim were blessed by the goodwill of Eolin, and enjoyed good luck for the rest of their lives.

This gradually evolved into the tradition of “alm-asking”, where the children of the cities, towns and villages, usually dressed up and disguised as other creatures in imitation of the Seraphims’ actions, would go from door to door asking for handouts, which were usually in the form of sweets, on the second night of Hallowfest. To accept would mean good luck, while turning away the children generally meant bad luck. Because the children were young and easily misled, there were usually several chaperones to safeguard the children. The second day of Hallowfest itself was generally used for preparing for the tradition.

“I’ll come as soon as I change my clothes.” agreed Arthuric.

“Meet us at the town square! You’ve got ten minutes!” called Magnolia as they hurried off.

Fifteen minutes later, Magnolia and Fleur were waiting in the town square. There was still no sign of Arthuric, and the children were getting restless. As Fleur told the childern to wait just a little longer, Magnolia checked her watch and looked around for any sign of Arthuric.

“Sorry I’m late. I had an altercation of sorts with a few Dire Wolves.” came Arthuric’s voice. Magnolia saw him walking up to her, and her eyebrows raised slightly at his choice of dress.

Arthirc was dressed in a set of armour clearly designed to invoke the appearance of a jack-o-lantern. His armour was orange with green highlights, and his helmet and shield looked like they’d been carved from pumpkins. His sword was curved and looked like it was a pumpkin stem, and it might have been if it wasn’t clearly made of tempered steel.

“What’s with that getup?” asked Magnolia.

“Hallowfest issue special armour. It gives me increased fire protection and experience accumulation. Cool, right? Besides, it goes with the theme of dressing up, doesn’t it?”

Magnolia grinned. “True enough. Alright, let’s get this show on the road!”

House by house, the small procession of children and their chaperones wandered down the streets, visiting each house in turn and gradually building up a large amount of sweets and goodies. Seeing the children’s happy faces as they counted their bounty gave Arthuric a warm feeling inside.

After two hours, the last house was visited, which was Chief Merrick’s. The Chief wished each child in turn a happy Hallowfest and gave them each a large gobstopper. Happily, the children began to wander back to their homes, but were stopped by Magnolia.

“Before you go back home, I have to do a quick headcount.” said Magnolia. She began to count the children, checking her list of names and faces as she went. When she finished, the color drained from her face, and she quickly did a recount.

“No, this… this can’t be right.” she muttered.

“Is something the matter?” asked Arthuric.

“Did you see any of the children wander away when we were alm-asking?” Magnolia asked him.

“No, has someone gone missing?” asked Arthuric.

“Not someone, but someones. We’re missing two of them.” Magnolia turned and addressed the assembled children. “Did any of you see…” She consulted her list. “Lisa Terissa or Marcus Quix wander off ?”

The reply was a chorus of “no”s.

“This is bad.” Magnolia said. She turned to Arthuric. “ We’re going to lead the children back home. Can you help us search for the two missing children?”

“On it.” Arthuric hurried off.

After an hour of fruitless searching, Arthuric bumped into Fleur, who was guiding a small boy back to his home. “No luck?” she asked.

Arthuric shook his head. “Not a sign.”

“Keep up the search. Magnolia’s gone searching too, and all I have to do is deliver Jacob here back to his parents. They’re not far.” Fleur said.

“You got it.”

Suddenly, Jacob was wrenched from Fleur’s hand by an unseen force. Fleur and Arthuric threw themselves after him and managed to grab onto his hands.

“Don’t let go!” gasped Arthuric.

Suddenly, a massive… something leapt from the shadowed forest behind Jacob and lunged at them. Arthuric drew his sword with one hand and parried the creature’s blows while straining to hold onto Jacob with the other.

“It’s got him!” screamed Fleur. Arthuric’s head whipped around, and he saw Jacob’s feet being enveloped by tendrils of darkness. Then a massive blow hit the side of his face, knocking him away. He rolled to his feet, and finally got a good look at his foe.

At first glance, the creature seemed to be a worm-shaped mass. Then it turned to face him, and he realized it was made up of what seemed to be… skulls?

No… it couldn’t be… could it?

The creature lunged at Arthuric, and he dodged aside, getting a clear view of the thing in the process. It seemed to be made up of innumerable skulls clustered into massive circular clumps, and the mass that made up its head was formed of a single, terrifying dragon skull.

“It’s the Skullwyrm!” screamed someone, and Arthuric saw a group of petrified villagers standing a few feet away. Attracted by the noise, the Skullwyrm slithered towards them, killing inten clearly etched in its movements.

Arthuric leapt at the Skullwyrm, slotting a Precise Barrier runestone into his shield and a Pinpoint runestone into his sword. He slammed into the monster’s side, and it recoiled, its jaws opening in a silent scream of agony.

The Skullwyrm recovered quickly, and it lunged at Arthuric, snapping at him with its razor sharp teeth. Arthuric blocked the attacks and charged again, smahing chunks of bone off the monster. The Skullwyrm shook angrily, and its eyes and mouth began to glow with an ominous purple light.

With a earth-shaking roar, the Skullwyrm blasted a beam of purple light at Arthuric. Arthuric barey managed to dodge, and, steeling himself, charged the monster. The Pinpoint runestone hummed, guiding his blade into a hairline crack in the dragon skull. The monster roared silently, and its head exploded into shards of bone, peppering Arthuirc with them.

The Skullwyrm wasn’t done, however, and the clustered skulls that made up the first segment of its body began to form into a massive screaming skull, distorted grotesquely. Arthuric attacked, but the creature roared and spewed a cloud of some murky substance, and Arthuric quickly retreated, noting that the substance stuck to his shield and was slowly corroding it. He swung his shield and flung away most of the goop.

The Skullwyrm opened its jaws, and began to sway from side to side. Seeing that the creature was wide open, Arthuric charged… failing to realize that energy was beginning to swirl deep inside its gaping maw.

He made it to within a few metres of the creature before it finished charging its attack and fired a laser of gray energy at Arthuric. The Postknight dived down, and the beam missed him by inches. The laser hit the ground a few feet behind him and immediately detonated in a blast of gray energy.

Arthuric landed under the monster, and before he could recover, the monster curled itself around him and squeezed. Arthuric struggled, but the monster just tightened its grasp. He felt something crack. Probably a rib. Maybe more.

“Arthuric!” cried Fleur.

Suddenly, the sound of beating drums resounded throughout the area, and the Wyrm turned its head to see the drummers from the procession before. They pounded on their drums and shouted menacingly. Distracted, the monster loosened its grip on Arthuric who fell to the ground below.

Seemingly recognizing the sound, the Wyrm roared, and, turning its head towards the drums, began to fire beams of purple light. The drummers quickly evaded the blasts, but several drums were blasted to splinters. The remaining drums continued to be beaten by the drummers.

The Wyrm snarled angrily. Shaking its head as though it was ridding itself of the sound, it opened its maw and began to charge its explosive attack once again.

From the ground, Arthuric raised his head. His head rang from its impact against the ground when the Wyrm had dropped him, and his chest felt like it was on fire. He was definitely sure he had at least two broken ribs. Seeing the monster preparing to attack the drummers, he pulled himself up and raised his sword, intent on not letting it finish.

Despite the pain he was in, Arthuric charged the monster once again, leaping up andstabbing his blade deep inside the cluster of skulls that the Wyrm had for a head . The humanoid bones were much more fragile and brittle than the dragon skull, and shattered on contact. His sword hit something deep inside the cluster, and the bones promptly lost cohesion and fell apart, revealing that his sword had pierced a crystal of sorts inside the monster.

The Skullwyrm writhed in agony, and Arthuric seized his chance. Shielding himself, Arthuric charged, trusting that his Pinpoint runestone would guide him to the monster’s weak spots. He charged forward, his blade shattering the black crystals. The Skullwyrm crumbled under the onslaught, but before Arthuric could destroy the last few segments, they flailed at him and knocked him away before they finally retreated back into the woods, out of sight.

Panting with exhaustion and barely able to stand from his injuries, Arthuric looked around and saw that at some point during the fearsome battle, the tendrils of darkness that had enveloped Jacob’s feet had dissipated, and he was now safely in Fleur’s arms, crying. Arthuric couldn’t blame the kid; he’d nearly fainted when he’d seen the Skullwyrm.

“What happened here? I heard the drums and came over as fast as I could.” asked Chief Merrick, hurrying up. He’d been on the other side of the village when the fight broke out.

“The Skullwyrm, or something like it, appeared and attacked, but the Postknight managed to fend it off. We helped by beating the drums.” a villager explained.

“The Skullwyrm?!” the Chief exclaimed. He looked at Arthuric. “Well, Arthuric, it looks like our decision to invite you here was rightly made, for it seems that this year’s Hallowfest will not be normal.”

Arthuric nodeed in assent. It was all he could do before his injuries caught up with him and he collapsed. The last thing he heard before everything went dark were the voices of the worried townsfolk.

Deep in the forest, the remnants of the Skullwyrm limped into a clearing. Despite being exposed to the elements, no moonlight or sunlight would ever shine into this clearing. Called the Darkdell by the Pomponians, it was fairly far away from the village, and reaching it from there would take most people at least a tenday of travel. However, the Skullwyrm was not most people.

A robed and hooded figure stood in the midle of the Darkdell. A single, emaciated hand protruded from under the robes, clutching a staff of petrified bone. Five Spirit Orbs were clustered together at the top of the staff, around a spike of obsidian.

The figure turned its head to regard the Skullwyrm.

“ _Shadow, you have failed me. You failed to capture the child I needed, and you failed to slay the knight, who will undoubtedly obstruct our plans. You have outlived your usefulness, I deem_.”

The Skullwyrm shook itself frantically, attempting to convey that it could still be of use to the figure. If the figure noticed, it paid no attention to the monster.

“ _Return to the darkness, Shadow #1. You are no longer needed._ _**Hanareo**._”

The Skullwyrm writhed, and then exploded in a shower of bones. The crystals that had held its form together lost their black lustre and turned gray, then disintegrated.

The figure paid no more attention to the destroyed monster. He tapped his staff lightly on the ground, chanting:

“ _Shadow #2, which I christened, come to me and take shape._ ”

A patch of darkness gathered itself from the shadows under the trees and coalesced into the form of a gigantic warrior in black, spiked armour.

“ **WHAT IS THY BIDDING, O SUMMONER?** ” the giant rumbled.

“ _Head to the village 12 kilometres southeast from here. You are to find a child of no more and no less than seven years of age, of the male gender. The boy takes priority, but if you are able, if a knight with pink hair appears, slay him on sight. However, do not engage if the knight delays you for too long. Bring the boy here first. Am I clear?_ ”

**“INDEED. THY BIDDING IS MY WILL, O SUMMONER. I SHALL PERFORM TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES.”**

“ _Good. Go now, and make haste._ ”

As the giant left, the figure turned and stroked his chin lightly, chucking to himself. He was sure that soon, the knight would be gone from his plans, and he would have all the children he needed to raise his dark god from its prison.

His eyes alighted on a pair of trembling children nearby, huddling under a small shelter. A ghastly grin spread across his face.

Yes, all was going well.


	3. Shadows and Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that Magnolia knows how to use magic. This is because she is the granddaughter of Chief Merrick, and he looks like a guy who would know how to use magic, and so I carried over that idea to Magnolia. I also made it so that Magnolia specializes in lightning magic, both for plot purposes and just because l like it.

Arthuric was awakened by the sun shining through the windowpane. Looking around, he noticed a snoozing Fleur next to him. She stirred and looked up, roused from her slumber by his movements. “Arthuric! You’re awake!” Fleur cried. “Yes, it seems that way. How long was I out?” Arthuric asked. “Not long, just overnight. It’s just past ten in the morning. Mom’s Crystal Potion worked wonders on you. There’s not a scratch on you now!” Fleur said.

Arthuric arrived at Alchemist Fiora’s house a little while later. “Thanks for healing me up, Miss Fiora.” he called. “No problem.” Fiora shook her head, grinning. “Perhaps this will teach you to look before you strike. You were never really good at that.” Entering the town square, Arthuric saw that there was a stage set up, and people were watching a play. Arthuric recognized the play; it was a reenactment of the third night of Hallowfest. On that day, the Archmage of Thunder, Electra, slew the Giant of Thorns with a lightning spell, aided by the Knight in Shining Armour, Therion. Therion had used his flashy armour to distract the giant at a critical juncture, buying Electra enought time to sizzle the giant into a cinder.

That night, most of the villagers were in their homes. A few villagers, armed with weapons, patrolled the perimeter of the village. Arthuric and Magnolia were among their number. At the moment, Arthuric was being chastised by Magnolia for being stubborn enough to come out patrolling when he’d just recovered from his injuries. Suddenly, Arthuric noticed a crashing noise coming from deep in the forest. It was faint, but the sound was getting louder by the second. Silently, Arthuric signaled to the nearby villagers. Some ran off to alert the other sentries, while Arthuric and the others readied their weapons. The sound was loud enough now that everyone could hear it. Behind them, Magnolia swallowed her fear and readied her staff, a spell ready on the tip of her tongue.

All of a sudden, the noise ceased entirely. Looking around, Arthuric raised his shield, his eyes darting in all directions. The air was thick with tension.

Then a massive figure erupted from the brush.

Roaring, the giant swatted aside one of the villagers and flung one into another. Magnolia waved her staff, and a bolt of lightning erupted from the sky to slam into the giant’s chest. The giant howled and staggered back, and Arthuric took the chance to rush it, sword at the ready. However, his sword glanced off the giant’s hide. The giant, incensed, stepped into the moonlight, and Arthutic finally got a good look at his foe.

The giant stood a good 3 meters tall, protected from damage by a huge suit of spiked armour, now battered and scorched by Magnolia’s lightning bolt. In its hand, the giant wielded a large iron club. Arthuric had no doubts that if the giant landed a hit with the weapon, it would be at the very least powerful enough to permanently take the victim out of the fight. Arthuric hastily slotted a Mirror Magic runestone into his shield and and a Life Drain runestone into his sword, and not a moment too soon. The giant roared and charged at them. Arthuric raised his shield and braced himself…

…only for the giant to charge past them, straight towards the village. “After that monster!” yelled one of the villagers.

Arthuric began to run after the monster, hoping that they could catch up in time. They were faster than the giant, but if it reached the village… Arthuric shuddered at the thought. Putting on a burst of speed, Arthuric rammed himself into the giant, causing it to topple over and fall to the ground. The giant started to get up, but the villagers dogpiled it as best they could, attacking it with everything they could lay their hands on, but to no avail, as the giant flung them off, though not without a little difficulty, and stood up, none the worse for wear.

Arthuric charged again, but the giant was ready for him and tanked the blow with ease. Arthuric was flung away by the recoil, dazed and feeling like he’d just rammed himself headfirst into a solid brick wall. He needed to find a weakness in the giant, something they could exploit… then he remembered. Physical attacks hadn’t done much to the giant, but the lightning bolt Magnolia had cast had successfully damaged it. Perhaps the creature was vulnerable to magical attacks?

“It may be weak to magic, use a spell on it!” Arthuric shouted to Magnolia, who gave him a thumbs-up in acknowledgement and raised her staff, muttering an incantation under her breath. As the giant assumed a running stance, arcs of lightning erupted from the tip of her staff and slammed into it, dancing across the giant’s skin in a dazzling display and making it roar in anger and pain. To Arthuric’s surprise, a chunk of the giant’s armour, already burned and battered where Magnolia’s first spell had struck and now hit once more, crumbled off and fell to the ground, exposing wet red skin underneath, overlaid with pulsing veins that glowed with an unnatural green light.

“Well, that confirms my hypothesis.” Arthuric muttered to himself. Unfortunately, Pompon was by and large a small village without much in the way of magic, with Chief Merrick and Magnolia being the only magic users in the village. But Magnolia was still in training, and the Chief too old and too busy to actively help… Arthuric was shaken out of his thoughts by a roar from the giant as it turned towards Magnolia, its eyes now glowing bright red, evidently seeing her as the larger threat. Magnolia darted behind a tree, but the monster snarled and attacked, ripping the tree from the ground. Magnolia turned and ran, but her foot caught on a tree root and she fell over. Snarling, the giant loomed over her. Magnolia was petrified with fear, shaking with terror as she looked up at the monstrous creature.

“Hey, big guy!! Pick on someone your own size!” The monster turned, and Arthuric hit it in the face with a thrown rock. Roaring, the monster charged at Arthuric, seemingly having forgotten all about Magnolia. Arthuric raised his shield and braced for impact, hoping it would hold up. The monster slammed into Arthuric, and he was immediately hurled backwards. Swiftly recovering, he braced for another strike, ignoring the numbness in his arm, and was surprised when no more came. Looking up, he saw the giant cradling its arm, cracks spiderwebbing across the armour, its club dropped on the ground by its feet.

While the giant was distracted, Arthuric took the chance to regroup with the members of the patrol that could still move. “The giant is weak to magic, so Magnolia’s our best bet at felling that thing before it can carry out its objective. We need to stop it from getting to her. Magnolia, how much mana do you stil have?” “A good amount, and I have quite a few mana potions.” replied Magnolia. “If you guys can keep that thing occupied, I think I can take it… at least I hope so.” “It’s not a good plan by any means, but it’ll have to d- here it comes !” one of the villagers yelled. Seeing the giant barreling towards them, the patrol quickly scattered.

“Over here, you big lug!” yelled one, firing arrows at the giant, which roared and lurched towards him. “I’m here!” yelled another, shooting his hand crossbow. The giant looked between the two of them, unable to decide which to attack. Then Magnolia hit it with a lightning bolt. Howling in agony, the giant swung around towards Magnolia, who was on the opposite side of the clearing. Before it could attack, however, another villager flung a rock at its head, and the giant instantly swung back around to face him.

Clearly, the giant was easily distracted. Arthuric thanked the gods that it was so, otherwise they might have had a much harder time fighting the creature. This cycle repeated over and over again until at last, the giant, its armour all but nonexistent, fell to its knees. Divested of its armour, the giant resembled nothing more than a large humanoid tumour, its glistening red skin punctured in many places and leaking fluorescent green blood. The giant’s resistance to physical attacks did not extend to its actual skin, apparently.

As the red glow faded from the giant’s eyes, a thought shot into its head. It had failed to procure a child, but at least it could kill the knight. Summoning its last vestiges of strength, it lunged for Arthuric. Caught off guard, Arthuric tried to shield, but his attempt was unsuccessful and the creature scored a glancing blow on his shoulder. Luckily, his armour held, though the place where he’d ben hit hurt like hell. As the creature swung its fist at him, Arthuric dodged past the attack and charged the creature, driving his sword into its forehead. The monster wailed, and as Arthuric pulled out his sword and leapt back, a final bolt of lightning struck from Magnolia’s staff and fried the monster into charcoal. The giant toppled sideways, crashing to the ground.

As the patrol closed in, it looked at them and grinned, a ghastly visage of bloodied fangs, and snarled: “ **This is not the end. My summoner shalt have his way. He will have his sacrifices before long, and when he is inevitably successful, thy village shalt perish in agony.** ” With that said, the giant breathed its last, its corpse fading into nothingness, leaving only the iron club behind, as the patrol looked at each other, taking in the meaning of the monster’s last words.

“That does not sound good.” said Magnolia finally.


	4. Things Get Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse, and Fleur is kidnapped.

The day after the battle with the monstrous giant, Chief Merrick held a meeting to discuss the happenings that had been taking place in the village. He had been quite shaken up by the events and wanted to stop them before anything else happened. The meeting the Chief had called consisted of Arthuric, Magnolia, one of the villagers who had been in the patrol, Voyer, Blacksmith Agen, Merchant Carle, Fleur and Alchemist Fiora.

After Arthuric, Magnolia and Voyer finished their story of the previous night’s happenings, Chief Merrick sighed and laced his hands together, his face lined with worry. “This complicates things just as much as it explains them. From your stories, we can ascertain that a mysterious summoner, most likely male, is the one behind the recent attacks on the village. He wants to kidnap children for some insidious purpose, the purpose of which we have yet to discover. This is bad, especially since the bandits are taking advantage of the turmoil to attack unwary villagers. Folgen to the east has even stopped trading with us for fear of being attacked too, and our other trading partners seem to be of the the same mindset.”

“This affects us all.” said Agen. “If we’re cut off from supplies with which to fortify ourselves and fill our stomachs, the bandits and the monsters will become even more bold in their exploits on our village. And if that happens, we will be weakened even further. I’m doing my best to arm all men who can fight, but Pompon is a small town, without many people, and half those women and children… if this goes on, it will fall, and be lost to the annals of history.” “I’ve sent a message to Postknight headquarters regarding Pompon’s plight, but they could only spare two or three postknights for backup.” said Arthuric. “Given recent events… I suppose it will suffice. At least there’s backup. I know one of them, a guy called Kurun, and he said he’ll stop by Kalilli on the way and pick up some supplies for us.”

The Chief cracked a weary smile. “A small beacon of hope and good news in these dark times. Does anyone else have anything to report?” “I’m brewing up as many potions as I can.” said Fiora. “Eolin knows we’ll need them. Fleur’s helping me collect herbs from the surrounding area, and I’ve warned her not to stray too far from the village boundaries. We’ve set up a small herbal plantation, which should help.” “I restocked just last week, so my store is fairly well stocked. I can provide some limited aid and supplies, but that’s all I can do for now, though I’ll be happy to take up arms if it comes to that.” said Carle. “And I’ve strengthened the arcane wards you placed around the village, Grandfather.” added Magnolia. “The monsters should know enough by now to stay well away from this area, but if any are brave enough to come… they’ll soon be running with their tails between their legs!”

*

Outside the village, a mischevious Dire Wolf got too close to the village boundaries and was quickly sent yelping back into the forest by a small bolt of lightning from one of the inset rune glyphs on the village’s outer wall.

*

“Good.” said Chief Merrick. “Well, if that’s all, I hereby declare this meeting dismissed. Thank you all for coming.” As everyone left the meeting, Magnolia pulled Arthuric aside.

“I’ve done some research, and I think the next attack that’s probably coming should be a Lamia-type monster of some sort. According to the legend, as I recall, the giant was probably based on the Goliath, who was killed by the Shining Knight, Toris the Bright and the Witch of the Five Elements, Kalrynn the Seductive. The Knight distracted it by attacking repeatedly and shattering its armor for the Witch to exploit its weakness to magical attacks.”

“The next monster that attacked was the Serpent of Miasma. It was faced by the Barbarian Elite, Karkaroff the Mighty and the Gunslinger, Elyss the Keen. Karkaroff used his great strength and skill with his weapons to dispell the toxic miasma the serpent exuded, allowing the Gunslinger to hit its weak points, its eyes and mouth. We should probably go to Agen to see if he can make a weapon like that. You still have that iron club, right?”

After the giant’s defeat, Arthuric had taken its weapon back to the village as evidence. It now lay stored away in a gilded envelope in his jacket.

“We can probably use it as materials for the gun.” Magnolia said. “Agen can smelt it down in his crucible. Let’s go!”

At the smithy, Agen was working on some armor when he saw them. After being briefed on the situation, he still looked pensive. “A gun ain’t easy to make, and I’m no expert on ‘em either.” he said. “You’d need a gunsmith for that sorta’ thing.” He looked again at the iron club on his crafting table. “But I can give it a go. The club’s shaped well for it too, so I should be able to make a functioning weapon, at least. Spare me a couple o’ hours, and it’ll be done.”

“Thank you, Mr. Agen!” Magnolia cried, hugging the old blacksmith, who blushed at little at the interaction. “Tis’ nothing, dearie. Now run along now, I’ve got a gun to make. I heard Carle was looking for you, why don’t you two head on over to his shop?” Thanking Agen, Magnolia and Arthuric set off to Carle’s shop. Behind them, they heard the sounds of a raging fire roaring to life in Agen’s forge as he set to work.

At Carle’s shop, the merchant presented the duo with a set of equipment, including vital food and water. “The two of you need to rest up for now, alright? You had a hard fight last night, and you should rest. Get your strength back.”

*

That evening, Arthuric was polishing his armor when a young girl, in tears, rushed up to him, calling: “Sir Knight! Sir Knight!” in panicked tones. “What is it?” Arthuric asked. “A big snake came by and snapped up Miss Fleur when we were out picking herbs!” the girl cried. “It breathed bad stuff on her and she fell asleep! Then it picked her up and carried her in the direction of the Darkdell!”

Arthuric shot to his feet. “I’ll tell the others. You get some rest, kid.” And as he raced through the village, calling for the Chief, he hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

*

And in the Darkdell, Fleur trembled in fear as she stared up, bound and gagged, at a hooded figure that towered over her laughed and spoke to the serpent that had kidnapped her. “ _Well done, Serpent. Now the knight will definitely come for her, and with luck, he’ll bring friends. Then I can crush them all in one fell swoop, and my plans will then go unimpeded._ " The hooded figure let out a laugh that chilled Fleur to the bone. “ _Don’t come for me, Arthuric… Magnolia… Mom… it’s too dangerous! It’s a trap!_ ” Fleur thought desperately. But, of course, fate had other plans, a wrench that would foil the hooded figure’s plans once more. For Pompon was not the only group to have suffered from the serpent’s wrath that evening, and the postknight backup steadily approached…

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are appreciated, but you don't have to if you don't like my writing.


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